Category Archives: DOJ, DC and inside the Beltway

Is Topuz a Spy? Turkey Thinks So

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ISTANBUL: Turkish prosecutors have prepared the charge sheet against a local employee of the US consulate who was arrested over alleged links to the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, Demiroren News Agency (DHA) reported.
Gulen is accused by Ankara of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, in which he denies all involvement.
Consulate worker Metin Topuz’s arrest in October 2017 added to existing tensions between the United States and Turkey, and led to a months-long suspension of bilateral visa services.
Relations between the two NATO allies have been strained over US support for Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, Turkey’s plan to buy a Russian missile defense system, and the US jailing of an executive at a Turkish state bank in an Iran sanctions-busting case.
Topuz is in jail along with two other local consulate employees, as is a Turkish-US national and former NASA scientist who faces terrorism charges. Washington wants all of them to be released.
DHA quoted from Topuz’s 78-page indictment, which stated that he had very close contact with police officers suspected of playing a role in the coup attempt. The news agency said the document listed President Tayyip Erdogan and former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, among others, as complainants.
Under Turkish law, a judge would now decide if Topuz’s case should proceed to trial.
The prosecutor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.
Ankara has repeatedly demanded that the United States extradite Gulen to Turkey. The cleric has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999.
Turkey has detained 160,000 people and dismissed nearly the same number of civil servants over suspected links to the coup attempt, according to the UN human rights office.
There was some easing of US-Turkish tensions late last year when an Ankara court freed a US pastor who had been detained for two years over accusations of links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Gulen.

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Turkish prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a local employee of the United States consulate in Istanbul accused of attempting to overthrow the government and espionage.

A 78-page indictment seen by The Associated Press on Sunday against Turkish national Metin Topuz, jailed since October 2017, said he was in “very intense contact” with police officers who led a 2013 anti-corruption investigation that implicated top government officials.

The Turkish government accused U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for attempting a “judicial coup” with that investigation and labeled his network a terror group. Gulen is also blamed for the 2016 failed coup but he denies the accusations.

The indictment said Topuz, who worked as a translator and fixer for the Drug Enforcement Agency in the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, told authorities he had been in touch with several police officers with alleged links to Gulen for narcotic investigations.

The prosecutor said this was a “reflexive acknowledgment of his crimes” and claimed Topuz’s communication with the officers was “beyond the limits of consular work.”

The indictment includes telephone calls, text messages, CCTV frame grabs with suspected police officers, along with testimonies from four witnesses and two suspects.

He’s also accused of privacy violations and illegally recording personal data.

A call to Topuz’s lawyer on Sunday was not immediately returned.

A judge will decide whether the case will proceed to trial. Among the 30 complainants are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former ministers.

Topuz’s arrest increased tensions between the two NATO allies in 2017 and led to the suspension of bilateral visa services for more than two months.

Relations hit rock bottom last summer when U.S. President Donald Trump sanctioned two Turkish officials and increased tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, causing a huge loss in the Turkish lira’s value, to pressure the country to release an imprisoned American pastor. Pastor Andrew Brunson was convicted in October for terror links but later allowed to leave the country.

Two other local consular employees are under investigation in Turkey. Jailed translator Hamza Ulucay is accused of terror group membership with alleged links to outlawed Kurdish militants, and staff Mete Canturk was placed under house arrest.

Ties have been on the mend since, but a host of issues remain as irritants, including U.S. support for Kurdish militants in Syria Turkey considers terrorists, Turkey’s pledge to buy Russian missile defense systems and cleric Gulen’s continued residence in Pennsylvania.

The Turkish government launched a massive crackdown against Gulen’s network following the 2016 coup and arrested more than 77,000 people and sacked more than 130,000 public employees through emergency decrees. Critics say the purge went beyond the suspects of the coup with the arrest of journalists, lawmakers and activists.

The Left’s Tactic: Attack Christians

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2nd Lady, Karen Pence decided to take a part time job teaching art at a DC Christian school. Out comes the left and in a bigger way. The hashtag dejour is #ExposeChristianSchools. Anyone paying attention?

Over the weekend, included in the whole matter was the fake media scandal of a Covington Catholic student allegedly confronting a Native American playing his drum. That is hardly what happened at all. But the media and some members of Congress ran with the false narrative. Sheesh.

Ah but there is more to this attack on Christians and religious education. We had those like Congressman Ted Lieu slamming this privileged education. Then we also had Congressman John Yarmuth demanding that kids be banned from wearing MAGA hats, stating that they seem to be poisoning young minds.

But wait, let us go back a few months shall we?

How about Senator(s) Mazie Hirono and Kamala Harris? Harris just announced her intention to run for president in 2020. Ahem…

Just a few months ago, Trump nominated Brian Buescher for a Federal court vacancy in Nebraska. During that confirmation hearing, both Senators attacked Mr. Buescher for his membership with the Knights of Columbus. In fact, Senator Hirono demanded that Buescher drop his membership in the Knights. Senator Harris made a big point that the Catholic organization was all male and the Judge would need to recuse himself over any case involving abortion or touched legal matters dealing with challenging Roe v. Wade.

The Knights of Columbus is the single larges Catholic service organization in the country. Services to communities include be ushers during mass, charitable work and visiting those in prison. But hold on….let’s go back a little further shall we to Dianne Feinstein and her questions to Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Senator Feinstein does like Christians or Catholics either.

So, anyway, after the Judge Buescher exchange, Senator Ben Sasse took to the senate floor.

Ah , but the GOP in the senate passed an interesting resolution introduced by Senator Sasse. See the 2 page resolution here.

Guess what….that resolution passed without opposition last Wednesday following his floor speech. This was a formal rebuke of Senator Hirono and Harris and rightly so. Remember this as lil Ms. Harris begins her presidential campaign. One last item…

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution forbids the imposition of a religious test for any office holder.

Furthermore, let us not forget the 1st Amendment:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights.

 

Pelosi/Schumer Against Wall, Why? Quanergy Systems

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This could be the real ah hah!

A stealth wall and they are tapping Pelosi and Schumer:

And how cool is it that Quanergy completed Series C financing with a valuation surpassing $2 BILLION only happened last October. Really? Yuppers and an IPO process is on track. It is all about Silicon Valley and we know those pesky democrats are quite tied, obligation and dependent on Silicon Valley money.

A stealth wall? A digital wall? A virtual wall? Yuppers again.

You see Silicon Valley wants Nancy and all the other democrats to win over this wall debate and not Trump. Other companies include advances in artificial intelligence, digital cameras, lidar, advanced and surveillance technology.

Oh wait there is more. We have yet another company called Anduril. The founder of Anduril is Palmer Luckey who built a a virtual reality enterprise and sold it to who? Oh—–> FACEBOOK in 2014 for a mere $2BILLION.

Okay, how about Cogniac? Well they offer technology identifying people and objects in digital images and cameras.

Okay, I am all for VERY advanced technology and this could be a real prudent solution to several variations of miles along our southern border.

This all seems to go back as far as 2008 and lil Ms. Nancy was on board back then.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called upon Silicon Valley leaders on Monday to send Washington their ideas on how the United States can reverse global warming, improve education and health care and rebuild U.S. infrastructure.

‘We have to pass this planet on to the next generation better than we found it,’ she told a meeting of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in Santa Clara Convention Center with coffee and cake for several hundred people. ‘I will compete with any initiative anyone wants to put forward for funding.’

The group was founded by David Packard in 1978 as the Santa Clara County Manufacturing Group. Packard wanted to improve the region’s economy and quality of life, and the group started with 33 companies. It has evolved into a policymaking forum for 260 companies that tackle issues of global importance.

Pelosi, D-San Francisco, was one of a many speakers who talked Monday about how the country can stay competitive in the global economy. She got a standing ovation as she took the stage.

She called for ‘a massive infusion of resources’ into basic biomedical research, investment in electronic health records, preventive medical care and innovations in green technology to create American jobs.

She also called on Silicon Valley leaders to follow in the footsteps of Presidents Thomas Jefferson, who built roads and canals through the territories of the Louisiana Purchase, and Theodore Roosevelt, who established the national park system.

‘We have a responsibility to build infrastructure in America … and to do it in a green way and think in an entrepreneurial way,’ she said. ‘Our competitors are way ahead of us on this.’

The group also heard from U.S. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto; George Miller, D-Martinez; and Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, who is working on a bill to help the United States retain talented immigrants who graduate from American universities. ‘Why send them home to compete with us when they could be part of our team?’ Lofgren asked.

Bill Watkins, chief executive officer of Seagate Technology in Scotts Valley Santa Cruz County, said the United States and California in particular has to improve its schools and provide health insurance for children. ‘We have the best military in the world because someone sticks up and demands it,’ he said. ‘People in this room need to start demanding the best education system.’

Other speakers included Mike Splinter, the CEO of Applied Materials, and venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, who called on companies to contribute to his Middle School Math Initiative, which trains teachers to teach math, by adopting at least one school in Silicon Valley for $5,000 a piece. ‘If these kids don’t have a math ‘Aha!’ moment, we’re going to lose them,’ he said.

Not to be left out is Senator Kamala Harris and her overwhelming admiration for social planning by the ‘Valley’.

President Trump is not against advanced technology along the border either, in fact he has said there should be various types of barriers and technology where feasible. Of note, Quanergy Systems is constructing a pilot program applying lidar border security along the India-Pakistan border. The founder of Quanergy, Mr. Eldada declares that concrete walls are an eyesore and they intrude on the environmental landscape impeding the free movement of wildlife.

The time is now to get on with the solution to the government shutdown and begin the pilot programs at our border with perhaps variations of technology and concrete…at least Pelosi and Schumer should go through those open doors and the White House and get on with it all.

Nigerian Children Being Trafficked to Europe for Sex Slavery

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Remember back  in 2014 there was a devastating condition in Nigeria of abducted school girls? The Congressional Black Caucus back then demanded the girls be returned and the terror group be brought to justice.

Anyone wonder where the United Nations is on trafficking in Africa?

Anyway, at the time in 2014, Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Barbara Lee and Karen Bass (both D-California) all gathered to hold a press conference outside the Nigerian embassy in Washington DC to make the declarations and demand.

As of March 2018, most of the 276 school girls have been freed and returned to their hometown, Dapchi, Nigeria. An estimated 60 escaped and others were sold then released by Boko Haram while a few others were rescued.

But now there is another nasty condition and it is trafficking. Hello Europe?

Highly organised Nigerian gangs are earning “extremely high profits” from trafficking children into 12 European countries, including Ireland, for prostitution, according to the EU police agency.

Europol said victims generate a smuggling debt of between €30,000-€60,000 each — and that paying off the debts can take years.

The agency said Nigerian criminal groups are organised into cells, typically run by females, known as “madams”, with men working in supportive roles.

The Europol report on the trafficking and exploitation of underage victims said southern EU countries, such as Italy and Spain, are the main entry points for trafficked Nigerians.

It said victims are then forced into prostitution in both the two entry countries and 10 other member states, including Ireland.

It said Nigerian organised crime gangs pose a “great challenge” to EU law enforcement. It said they were well organised, but not structured like most other crime networks.

The Ramble: Human Trafficking and Boko Haram Refugees

“The typical Nigerian criminal group is not hierarchically structured but rather organised into cells, among which female suspects usually execute the core business [recruitment and exploitation], with male members having supportive roles,” said the report.

“Contrary to other criminal groups involved in human trafficking, where female members are generally employed as victim controllers, the figure of the ‘madam’, including acting as a ring leader, is central for the Nigerian THB [trafficking of human beings] business.”

The report said the cellular structure makes it easy to move victims and that if one cell is dismantled by police, the other cells can continue operating.

It said: “Nigerian networks generate extremely high criminal profits, as each victim is forced to pay back the organisation usually between €30,000 and €60,000.”

It said most victims of Nigerian gangs were aged between 15 and 17, though the reports documents children aged 11-15 and some aged six-10 and even under five.

The girls were often promised well-paid jobs. The gangs often involved family relatives to persuade the girls to move and in other cases use voodoo rituals.

It said victims are passed from trafficker to trafficker and are “frequently subjected to physical assaults” and subsequently sexually exploited.

About 9,000 Nigerian Women to Face Forced Prostitution in ...

So, where is the Congressional Black Caucus now? Well they have moved on to water issues in Nigeria. Last July:

23 members from the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) issued a letter of solidarity to the Our Water, Our Right Coalition in Nigeria which is leading an ongoing struggle for water access that has been sidelined for years by government attempts to privatize the water system. The letter makes direct connections between the struggle of the people of Lagos and that of people in U.S. cities like Flint and Detroit, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Read more here.

Now we understand that trafficking of children is a selective scandal for the Democrats….those from Central and Latin America and those in Africa. Has anyone in the CBC spoken out to the media about the new conditions in Europe and Nigeria? Anyone?

One last item, this is not a new phenomenon:

In an interview with Reuters at the end of May, Julia Siluyanova of Russian anti-slavery group Alternativa said: “We discovered that about 30 [Nigerian women] were brought to the Confederations Cup in Moscow last year… we expect to face the same problem during the World Cup this year.”

Law enforcement agencies across Europe and other regions routinely rescue young Nigerian women who have been smuggled out of their home country to work in brothels.

Many are put through juju voodoo rituals before being smuggled abroad, during which they are convinced that their relatives will suffer death or serious illness if they refuse to follow the instructions of their traffickers.

In February, police in the UK and Spain arrested 12 members of an international Nigerian sex trafficking gang who were said to have pulled out their victims’ fingernails and made them eat raw chicken hearts during juju rituals.

 

PG&E Heads to Bankruptcy Due to Wildfire Liabilities

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PG&E is the largest power company in the United States and is giving employees a 15 day notice of intent to file Chapter 11.

California Wildfires Force Hollywood Stars, Sets, Studio ...

The catastrophic fires of 2017 and 2018 in California could reach upwards of $30 billion in damages and liability. The CEO has announced his exit and has been replaced on a temporary basis by the corporate lawyer, John Simon. PG&E serves 16 million customers and this legal process is not supposed to impact services for electric power or natural gas.

California fires: Death toll rises to 17 - CNN

The November Camp fire that swept through a mountain community in California, killed 86 people and the property and business damage has yet to be estimated. It is estimated that PG&E has $1.5 billion in liquidity and could take as much as two years to recover from Chapter 11.

Meanwhile, there was quite the travel and play junket to Hawaii as those fires burned. What you say?

California lawmakers are no different from those in Congress taking little vacations at really bad times in the worst of bad judgement. (30+ Hispanic lawmakers, part of the BOLD PAC took a multi-lobby paid vacation to Puerto Rico during the government shutdown)

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FNC: A group of California lawmakers took a trip to Hawaii with utility companies last year as wildfires wreaked havoc in their state.

During the junket, representatives from utility companies discussed with the bipartisan group of lawmakers just how much responsibility they should bear for wildfires – even as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) could be on the hook for several billions of dollars in damages for fires it caused over the past few years.

The utility companies are pushing for a new state law that would raise electricity prices to offset costs incurred from wildfires, according to The New York Times.

The annual event, hosted by the nonprofit Independent Voter Project, was held in Maui in November. PG&E executives did not attend the conference because of the wildfires, but representatives from San Diego Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison did, KABC-TV reported.

Those in attendance at the Wailea conference included California Assembly members Frank Bigelow, Bill Brough, Ian Calderon, Jim Cooper, Tom Daly, Heath Flora, Jim Frazier, Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Freddie Rodriguez and Blanca Rubio. State Sens. Ben Hueso and Cathleen Galgiani also attended, nonprofit Consumer Watchdog reports.

Bigelow and Brough are Republicans. The rest of the group are Democrats.

Thanks to Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit that is dedicated to being a consumer advocate with regard to protecting taxpayers and taking on special interests regardless of party. Ah but take caution, keep an eye on a possible financial bailout of PG&E. There are some energy billionaires out there that will lobby for financial assistance for PG&E.

It was just last June that a report was published revealing that PG&E has the makings of another Enron. For the highlights of that report, go here.